Liquidation calculator.
See the price where your leveraged long or short force-closes — isolated or cross, with the maintenance-margin rate set to your exchange's published tier.
Estimate uses a flat maintenance amount at entry. Fees, funding, risk tiers, other positions and collateral haircuts are excluded.
Estimated liquidation price 58,825.00 USDT, 9.50% from entry. Maximum loss 1,000.00 USDT.
Liquidation Price Calculator
Estimate where your position gets liquidated
Est. Liquidation Price
58,825.00 USDT
Moderate RiskDistance: 9.50% (6,175.00 USDT)
- Position Size
- 10,000.00 USDT
- Quantity
- 0.153846
- Initial Margin
- 1,000.00 USDT
- Maintenance Margin
- 50.00 USDT
Maximum Loss
If liquidated, you could lose up to 1,000.00 USDT (your entire margin).
This calculator provides estimates based on simplified formulas. Actual liquidation prices may differ due to funding rates, trading fees, insurance fund contributions, and exchange-specific margin rules. Always check your exchange's documentation for exact calculations.
Results are estimates only and should not be relied upon for financial decisions.
Profit / Loss Calculator
Calculate your potential profit or loss on a trade
Net Profit / Loss
+760.92 USDT
+76.09% ROI- Position Size
- 10,000.00 USDT
- Quantity
- 0.153846
- PnL Before Fees
- +769.23 USDT
- Total Fees
- −8.31 USDT
- Price Change
- +7.69%
- Leveraged Return
- +76.09%
This calculator shows estimated results. Actual PnL may vary due to slippage, funding rates, partial fills, and exchange-specific fee tiers. Fee presets reflect typical maker/taker rates on major exchanges.
What Is a Liquidation Price?
Liquidation is the exchange reducing or closing a position when its maintenance-margin requirement is no longer met. For perpetual futures, margin backs a larger notional exposure; leverage does not itself mean the exchange lends you the whole position value. Liquidation generally begins before the modeled margin reaches zero. Bankruptcy price, liquidation trigger and final execution price are different concepts; losses and settlement depend on the contract and account rules.
For an isolated position opened with sufficient margin, the liquidation threshold is normally below entry for a long and above entry for a short. At fixed entry and initial margin, higher leverage leaves less room for an adverse move. The shortcut 1 ÷ leverage describes margin exhaustion with zero maintenance and no costs, not an exact liquidation distance. Maintenance, fees, funding and account collateral change the threshold.
Estimate the liquidation threshold before opening a position and check the exchange’s current margin rules. A protective stop belongs between entry and liquidation for the same price reference, but mark price and last traded price can differ. A stop may slip or fail to fill and does not guarantee a limited loss. This calculator illustrates a simplified model; it cannot guarantee an exit or replace the exchange’s account-level calculation.
How Liquidation Works: Step by Step
The steps below explain the main concepts, not a guaranteed sequence or warning period. The venue and margin mode determine the process, and fast markets can leave no time to react:
1. You Open a Leveraged Position
You post margin to support a larger derivatives exposure. In this illustration, $400 of initial margin at 25x gives $10,000 of position notional before fees. That notional is not, by itself, a cash loan. Borrowing can arise separately under the account’s rules.
2. The Market Moves Against You
If you're long and the price drops, or short and the price rises, your unrealized losses grow. These losses are deducted from your margin balance in real-time.
3. Margin Call Warning
Margin alerts depend on the venue and account settings. They may arrive late or not at all and provide no guaranteed grace period. Maintenance requirements vary by contract and risk tier; do not assume a universal rate or wait for a warning before managing exposure.
4. Forced Liquidation
For contracts that use mark price to trigger liquidation, that reference can reach the threshold before the last traded price shown on your chart. The liquidation engine may reduce or close the position under the venue’s rules. Cross or portfolio margin may use account-level risk thresholds. Execution price, fees and settlement determine the final loss; the trigger alone does not specify it.
5. Insurance Fund or Socialized Losses
After a liquidation trigger, the final execution price can differ from both the trigger and bankruptcy prices. Bankruptcy price represents exhaustion of the modeled position margin. Depending on the venue, an insurance fund may absorb a deficit from execution beyond bankruptcy; insufficient reserves may lead to auto-deleveraging (ADL). Settlement and loss allocation follow the contract and account rules.
How to Calculate Profit and Loss
The profit or loss on a leveraged trade depends on the price difference between your entry and exit, multiplied by your position size. The PnL calculator factors in trading fees on both sides of the trade to give you a realistic net result.
Long PnL: Quantity × (Exit Price − Entry Price) − Fees
Short PnL: Quantity × (Entry Price − Exit Price) − Fees
ROI: Net PnL ÷ Investment × 100%
With leverage, your ROI is amplified. A 1% price move with 5x leverage results in a 5% return on your investment (before fees). At 20x, that same 1% move becomes a 20% swing. This works in both directions — losses are equally amplified. A common mistake among beginners is focusing only on the upside amplification while underestimating the speed at which losses accumulate.
How Is Liquidation Price Calculated?
The simplified formula for estimating liquidation price depends on your position direction:
Long: Liq. Price = Entry × (1 − (Margin − Maintenance) ÷ Position Size)
Short: Liq. Price = Entry × (1 + (Margin − Maintenance) ÷ Position Size)
Where Maintenance is the maintenance margin requirement (typically 0.4%–1% of position size depending on the exchange and tier). This calculator uses a configurable maintenance margin rate so you can match your exchange's specific requirements.
Worked Example: Long Position
Suppose you open a long BTC position at $90,000 with $1,000 margin and 20x leverage. Your position size is $20,000 (≈ 0.2222 BTC). With a 0.5% maintenance margin rate:
• Maintenance margin = $20,000 × 0.5% = $100
• Available margin before liquidation = $1,000 − $100 = $900
• Price drop to liquidation = $900 ÷ (2/9 BTC) = $4,050
• Liquidation price = $90,000 − $4,050 = $85,950
• A 4.5% price drop reaches the liquidation threshold in this simplified model; the actual closing price and final loss can differ.
Worked Example: Short Position
Now imagine shorting ETH at $3,500 with $500 margin and 10x leverage. Position size is $5,000 (≈ 1.4286 ETH). With 0.5% maintenance margin:
• Maintenance margin = $5,000 × 0.5% = $25
• Available margin = $500 − $25 = $475
• Price rise to liquidation = $475 ÷ (10/7 ETH) = $332.50
• Liquidation price = $3,500 + $332.50 = $3,832.50
• That's a 9.5% price increase — more room than the long example because leverage is lower
Isolated vs Cross Margin
The margin mode you choose fundamentally changes your risk profile. Understanding the difference is essential before placing any leveraged trade.
Isolated Margin
Dedicates a fixed amount of collateral to a single position. If liquidated, only that margin is lost and the rest of your wallet is untouched — provided automatic margin top-ups are switched off; with auto-replenishment enabled, the exchange keeps adding from your available balance and the position can cost more than its initial margin.
- Risk is capped per position
- Easier to manage multiple positions
- Liquidation price is closer to entry
- Best for beginners and single-trade risk control
Cross Margin
Uses your entire available wallet balance as collateral. Gives positions more room before liquidation, but a single bad trade can drain your account.
- More breathing room per position
- Profits from one position can offset losses on another
- Risk of total account wipeout
- Best for experienced traders with hedged portfolios
Leverage and Liquidation Distance
The relationship between leverage and liquidation distance is reciprocal: the move that liquidates you is roughly 100% ÷ leverage (before the maintenance-margin deduction), so doubling the leverage halves the room. Here's how much the price needs to move against you before liquidation at different leverage levels (excluding maintenance margin for simplicity):
| Leverage | Price Move to Liquidation | Risk Level | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2x | 50% | Low | Equivalent to buying stock on margin |
| 3x | 33% | Low–Medium | Standard for conservative futures trading |
| 5x | 20% | Medium | Common for swing traders |
| 10x | 10% | High | BTC can move 10% in a single day |
| 20x | 5% | Very High | Common intraday BTC volatility |
| 50x | 2% | Extreme | Gets liquidated by normal market noise |
| 100x | 1% | Maximum | A single large order can trigger this |
| 125x | 0.8% | Gambling | Virtually guaranteed liquidation |
Bitcoin's average daily volatility in recent years has been approximately 3–5%. This means any position with leverage above 20x has a meaningful probability of being liquidated within a single trading day, even if your directional thesis is ultimately correct.
Common Liquidation Mistakes
Most liquidations are preventable. Here are the most common mistakes that lead traders to lose their margin:
❌ Using Max Leverage "Because It's Available"
Exchanges offer up to 125x leverage, but this doesn't mean you should use it. Most professionals use 2x–5x. Higher leverage is a marketing feature, not a trading strategy.
❌ No Stop-Loss Order
Without a stop-loss you are relying on watching the market around the clock, and crypto moves while you sleep. Place the stop on the safe side of your liquidation price, in the direction of your entry: for a long, liquidation sits below the entry, so the stop goes between the two (liquidation < stop < entry); for a short, liquidation sits above the entry, so the stop goes between them (entry < stop < liquidation).
❌ Ignoring Funding Rates
Funding uses position notional and the contract’s current settlement schedule, which can change. Assuming an unchanged rate and notional and a position held through every settlement, work it out as rate × notional × settlements, then translate it into margin: at 0.1% per 8-hour settlement, a week costs 21 settlements × 0.1% = 2.1% of notional — 21% of the initial margin at 10x, 42% at 20x — moving your effective liquidation price closer. Whether you pay or receive depends on your side and the sign of the rate.
❌ Adding Margin to a Losing Position
Adding margin to avoid liquidation is throwing good money after bad. If your analysis was wrong, accept the loss. Adding margin only delays liquidation and increases total potential losses.
❌ Trading During High-Impact Events
FOMC announcements, CPI data releases, and unexpected regulatory news can cause 5–15% moves within minutes. Over $1 billion in liquidations occurred across exchanges during the August 2024 crash in under 24 hours.
Tips to Avoid Liquidation
✅ Use Lower Leverage (2x–5x)
Under this calculator’s isolated, fixed-maintenance model: Lower leverage puts the liquidation price further away. At a 0.5% maintenance rate a 5x long is liquidated after a 19.5% adverse move and a 10x long after 9.5%, while a 50x position dies on a 1.5% dip. None of these is safe — a 20% drawdown finishes the 5x trade too — but the lower the leverage, the more ordinary volatility a position can sit through.
✅ Set Stop-Loss Orders
Illustrative example, not a recommended buffer: with entry 65,000, 10× leverage and 0.5% maintenance in this calculator's simplified model, a stop 75% of the way from entry to liquidation is 60,368.75 for a long (liquidation 58,825) and 69,631.25 for a short (liquidation 71,175). These comparisons assume the same trigger-price reference. Liquidation uses the mark price; a stop triggered by the last traded price can lag. Check your venue's trigger and order rules. A triggered stop may fill with slippage or fail to fill; it does not guarantee a loss limit.
✅ Monitor Funding Rates
When funding is extremely high (above 0.05%), consider taking the other side of the trade or waiting for rates to normalize before entering.
✅ Size Positions Using the 1% Rule
Never risk more than 1–2% of your total portfolio on a single leveraged trade. position size calculator to determine the right trade size.
✅ Use Isolated Margin Mode
Isolated margin limits your loss to the margin allocated to that specific position — keep automatic margin replenishment switched off, or the exchange tops the position up from your balance. Until you're experienced with managing correlated positions, stick with isolated mode.
Liquidation on Different Exchanges
Each exchange handles liquidation slightly differently. Key differences include maintenance margin rates, insurance funds, and auto-deleverage (ADL) mechanisms:
| Feature | Binance | Bybit |
|---|---|---|
| Max Leverage | 125x | 100x |
| Maintenance Margin | Tiered (0.4%–5%) | Tiered (0.5%–5%) |
| Insurance fund (balance published by the venue) | Yes | Yes |
| ADL System | Yes | Yes |
| Partial Liquidation | Yes | Yes |
Most major exchanges now use partial liquidation — they reduce your position size incrementally rather than closing everything at once. This helps limit slippage and gives you a chance to manage the remaining position. However, partial liquidation still results in realized losses and should not be relied upon as a risk management strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you get liquidated?+
Can you get liquidated on spot trading?+
What is the difference between liquidation price and bankruptcy price?+
Do I lose everything when I get liquidated?+
How can I calculate my liquidation price before opening a trade?+
Does funding rate affect liquidation price?+
What is auto-deleverage (ADL)?+
Is higher leverage always worse?+
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Derivatives and leveraged products are complex and carry a high risk of rapid, substantial losses. Depending on the product and account rules, losses can exceed the initial margin or money committed. A stand-alone purchased option can lose its entire premium plus transaction costs; writing options, exercising into another position, or combining positions can create additional obligations. An uncovered call writer can face unlimited loss. Applicable legal protections can affect the loss boundary.
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